“Sonny” Charles Liston* Or whatever his real name is, Do you think he could conquer the 90s golden age? he has an answer for every question asked of him In my eyes he also has the dimensions and athleticism, size and strength, he can box, punch like a mule take a punch like a brick wall and has arguably the greatest HW jab of all time. His hardest opponent in my eyes silly as it sounds at first is Chris Byrd...
Well considering he was in his late 50s when he lost to Ali I think it's fair to say we only had a glimpse at how good he truly was in his prime.
He KO’d Joe Louis In sparring, not a great feat considering Joe was green and preparing for Schmeling while Sonny was a seasoned Vet it’s just something to think about is all.
I think Liston beats everyone but Lewis at his best. He was like a non roided up Ike. Imagine him on roids? Ike with better Defensive movement and jab. Shame we never got Lewis v Ike
Liston may well be the most complete.well rounded heavyweight ever. That's why he gets torn down on here by certain people.....they fear his name and what he would against an opponent who came straight at him.
Yes. For a guy to hit as hard as he does and yet have great fundamentals, stamina, and skill is a formidable package. His only weakness were guys with great lateral movement and defense. In the 90's he cause serious mayhem. A prime Holyfield got hit too much and was too willing to trade and would have lost or gotten stopped, but Holyfield likely wins the rematch. Morrison, Cooper, Stewart, Moore, Damiani, Seldon, Golota, Rahman, Ruddock, Hide, and Bruno would all get KO'd. Liston would win unanimous decisions over Tua, old Holmes, old Foreman, and McCall. He stops post prison Tyson in 9. Mercer, Sanders, and Ibeabuchi would be incredibly savage battles that could go either way. They'd probably need a best 2/3. Bowe would beat him in a war for the ages, but loses focus and loses the rematch. Chris Byrd outpoints him. Lennox stops him late, as long as he doesn't get lazy and overconfident. It's hard to envision him NOT getting a belt at some point in this era.
People forget when he was a teenager he got banned from Dempseys training camp for beating him up in sparring. It was because of Liston that Dempsey wouldn't face Wills or Langford.
It was well known that his real father was Frederick Douglass, thus Sonny was in his late 60s by the time he flattened Patterson.
Liston, like Dempsey, is the type of fighter that looks to be better H2H than his resume suggests. I view him as very dangerous fighter for anyone, but he's not among very best ever at HW. Liston vs Jeffries is one of my favorite hypothetical H2H matchup. Two of the strongest, most powerful boxers ever with good skills to back it up.
Its a little known fact that when Jack Johnson was just a teenager he was brought into Listons camp for speed but after just one round Johnson had enough and promptly pulled up stakes.
He wasn’t a teenager, he was a teenager when he mauled John L in a barn fight which created the colour line to begin with.
I think his power, jab and fundamentals are too much for Lennox Lenny did after all struggle with Bruno... His chin wouldn’t hold up to Liston and Bowe like Mercer I think would be tamed by his jab... just my opinions.
One of the earliest performances of Liston that impressed me was when he backed up the Marquis of Queensbury himself behind the jab and out of nowhere landed a rapier like overhand right to drop him for the count.
Unfortunately this story is only partly true. He was already a grown man with kids when he whooped John L and became bitter waiting decades for a title shot and seeing Jack Johnson become the first black champion. He was a teenager when he served as a sparring partner for Paddy Ryan. He developed his killer jab by tossing heavy horse shoes and curling barrels of beer at a farm where he trained.
He would beat everyone in the 90s except for Holyfield, and perhaps Bowe. Mercer and McCall would be the only guys to lose over the distance, the rest would get knocked out.
